Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2012 winners

The winners of the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year
2012 have been announced. The coveted title of Veolia Environnement Wildlife
Photographer of the Year was awarded to Paul Nicklen from Canada for his
image of emperor penguins on a frozen area of the Ross Sea, Antarctica. An
exhibition of winning photos opens at the Natural History Museum in London
on Friday 19 October, featuring 100 images. We publish ten of the winning
images here - see more at www.nhm.ac.uk/wildphoto

Bubble-jetting emperors Winner: Paul Nicklen

This was the image Paul had been so hoping to get: a sunlit mass of emperor
penguins charging upwards, leaving in their wake a crisscross of bubble
trails. The location was near the emperor colony at the edge of the frozen
area of the Ross Sea, Antarctica. It was into the only likely exit hole that
he lowered himself. He then had to wait for the return of the penguins,
crops full of icefish for their chicks. Paul locked his legs under the lip
of the ice so he could remain motionless, breathing through a snorkel so as
not to spook the penguins when they arrived. Then it came: a blast of birds
from the depths. They were so fast that, with frozen fingers, framing and
focus had to be instinctive. "It was a fantastic sight", says Paul, "as
hundreds launched themselves out of the water and onto the ice above me - a
moment that I felt incredibly fortunate to witness and one I'll never
forget."